A careful analysis of the harvesting calendar regarding the selected ComCashew countries has shown a potential for an almost year round cashew supply: with the exception of August and September, raw cashew nuts (RCN) are available anytime of the year in one of the selected ComCashew countries.

It is the long-term vision of the project that strategic purchasing between African countries would make it possible that all stakeholders of the cashew value chain equally benefit from development. Strategic purchasing reduces working capital and optimizes capacity utilization for RCN processing.

Processors could buy small quantities for processing for four to five months annually and import the rest from other African countries in the counter season. Farmers could thus have income in the so-called “hungry season”, when food crops cannot be harvested.